Smartboard

The Smartboard is a wonderful tool for the classroom. It is essentially a large, touch-sensitive screen. The board is connected, via a standard USB plug, to a computer and a digital projector, which displays the computer's screen image onto the whiteboard. Work done on the board can be saved on the computer and emailed later if the need be.
I like the idea of the smartboard in the classroom. It brings the information alive to the students, each lesson can become an interactive one and it can help students to be very motivated to learn. The smartboard is very useful to demonstrate and teach any subject. The teachers can go to websites that have great interactive materials, they can annotate and highlight text that students can see from the back of the room, they can shape paragraphs to show main ideas, cause-and-effect, students can see writing in bright colors, move pieces of puzzles, play Jeopardy with review questions, write with digital ink and so many other things. The interactive white board is a excellent tool to enhance teaching and can be so much more interesting and make learning cool beyond words.
Although the Smartboard is amazing, I noticed a few disadvantages while lessons were being taught. It was a bit time consuming when students went up to the board to participate; I noticed while some students were walking up to the smartboard, other students were having their own conversations which was a little distracting. While practicing my own lesson, I noticed that the interactive white board was not so easy to touch and is not as "smart" (I guess it would take a little getting used to). The smartboard is very expensive, as a result, it would be difficult to have in every classroom.
My overall impression of the Smartboard is definitely a positive one and I would embrace the idea of having one in my classroom someday.